Love is a Battlefield
by ARPfics
Summary: Why does Puck want to ruin Artie's & Tina's romance, before it's even started? Done for now...
1. Chapter 1

AN: My first glee fic! I fell in love with Artie's character after Wheels, so I guess this is the result.

"Artie?" As Mrs. Abrams made her way down the dim corridor, she tightened the loop of her bathrobe nervously. "Artie?" She pushed open her son's door, saw the dim within and some strange fear hitting her in the gut. "It's time to get up."

"Oh, hey mom," her son said brightly, turning from the glow of his macbook. "I was just trying to finish this song."

She laughed, slowly calming down. "How long have you been up?"

He shrugged, snapping his suspenders on his shoulders nervously. "It's something I wanna show the band," he avoided the question, but his mother saw right through him.

"You ready to go back to school?"

"Do I have a choice?" He laughed lightly, turning back to the computer briefly before closing it and rolling towards the door. "Come on, let's go eat breakfast."

Mrs. Abrams smiled at her son before taking off down the hall. "I've got to go wake up Mackenzie. I'll be down in a minute."

Artie shook his head, making his way towards the kitchen. "Hey dad," he smiled as he entered the kitchen. "Could I take the Accord to school today?"

"No way." Mr. Abrams looked up, laughing. "Maybe when you turn 18."

"But I'll be in college in New York by than. I won't need a car."

"Exactly." Artie's father set his face for a moment, than burst out laughing. "If we go down to Indian Lake next weekend, maybe I'll let you drive a bit."

"I hate Indian Lake." Artie scrunched up his nose, imagining all the jocks and cheerios making out in their Mustangs along the lake shore.

"So you don't have to go," Mr. Abrams laughed loudly, picking up his morning paper.

Mackenzie and Mrs. Abrams came in kitchen, arguing about the girl's book bag. "But mom, I don't want to use this old bag again. I mean, I can't show up to middle school with this bag."

"I've used my book bag since 5th grade," Artie offered. Mackenzie just shot him a look, clearly he was not helping her case.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter for you." And the warning glare that Mrs. Abrams shot her almost burned a hole in her. "Mom, I just meant that he's a guy. No one cares that he doesn't have a Kipling bag."

"What's Kipling?" Artie looked up from his cereal, laughing.

Mackenzie shook her head, her curly brown hair. "See? I told you."

"Maybe for your birthday. Come on, We've got to get going." Mrs. Abrams weaved through the kitchen, wiping up her kids' lunches.

Artie and Mackenzie raced through breakfast obligingly. Finally, Mr. Abrams gathered up his paper and stood up. "OK, who's ready for school?"

""Not me." Artie shot back.

"Me either." Mackenzie put in.

"Well, it's now or never." Mr. Abrams automatically gathered up their lunches from the counter and handed them out to the kids.

They marched towards the car, the melody Artie had been creating still floating through his head. Artie's mind was far away as he slipped into the front seat, his father folding his wheelchair into the trunk. They started the drive as usual, Rush Limbaugh rambling off complicated politics while Mackenzie talked about her friends and school in the back seat to no one in particular. They drove past the middle school to drop off Mackenzie, Artie staring out the window, not so keen on reliving his own middle school experience. Just as they started off again, Artie noticed a lone figure not far ahead of them. Her familiar black hair was now streaked with bright blue, but he would recognize her plaid backpack covered in safety pins anywhere. "Hey, stop!"

Mr. Abrams nearly slammed on the breaks, "What is it? What's wrong?" He turned down Rush, thinking maybe it was Artie's back again.

"Jeez, sorry, it's not that." He shook his head and rolled down his window. He looked back, and sure enough, Tina was approaching their car. "Hey, Tee, hop in."

She smiled, jogging up to the car.

"Do you mind, dad?" Artie asked, a bit too late.

"Not at all," he smiled as Tina climbed into the back seat.

"Hey Tina," Artie turned around as far as he could and looked at Tina awkwardly. "How are you?"

She smiled back shyly, "g-good. Hey, th-thanks for the r-r-ride, Mr. A-A-Abrams."

"No problem," he said grandly.

Artie kept trying to look back at her, which wasn't working because they were both on the same side of the car. Finally he gave and looked ahead at the road, hoping to keep conversation up. "How was your summer?"

"B-b-boring, but it was o-o-ok. I d-d-didn't do much. Wh-what about y-you?"

Artie half smiled at his friend's stutter; he found it enduring. "Yeah, it was nice. We went to Chicago to visit my aunt for a week." He left out how awful that trip had turned out. Although his mother and their aunt talked all the time, years had passed before either family was able to make the almost 5 hour trip. Artie barely remembered the last time he had seen his cousins; he had been about 5. Of course his aunt had no clue what to expect from Artie and his wheelchair, but she had gotten it all wrong. Artie glanced over at his father and could almost see him wincing.

"Th-that's nice," Tina said from the back seat and now, Artie caught her face in the rear view mirror, looking ahead in wide eyed innocence. Her eyes roamed to his reflection and he gave her a soft smile."I-it's g-g-good to s-see you, Artie. I-It w-wasn't the s-same without o-our homework c-c-calls." she said softly.

Artie kept smiling into the mirror, watching her nervously fix her hair. "I've missed you too," he said.

She looked up through her veil of hair and gave him the sweetest smile he'd seen from anyone in a long time. Suddenly, her smiled died and her eyes widened. "H-hey, g-guess what? I-I-I heard Mr. Sh-Shue is g-g-gonna t-take over th-the g-g-glee club. Ma-maybe we sh-should sign up?"

"The glee club?" Artie looked at her reflection like she was crazy. Me in the glee club? No way was he gonna join the glee club. He had enough going on, being in jazz band and advanced art. Anyway, it wasn't like he could get up and dance and isn't that what those show choirs did?

"Yeah, it m-m-might be f-f-fun. I-i-i a-already know-" she cut off, suddenly turning to look out the window. Artie knotted his eyebrows and followed her glance out the window, shocked to see that they were already in the high school parking lot. "Hey, isn't that, I-I-I m-mean, th-that's Kurt!" She pointed out the window, where sure enough, Kurt was standing besides the dumpster, surrounded by jocks. Artie don't know why she was so surprised; Kurt got thrown in the trash at least twice a week.

She threw open the door. "Hey wait!" Artie called after her, rolling down his window. "Tee- what are you doing?"

"It's time s-s-someone s-s-stood up to those jocks." Her voice was surprisingly strong as she called back; Artie could not miss that her stutter was nearly gone. She turned and walked confidently towards the dumpster.

"Wait!" Artie called after her, sure that she had lost her mind... "Dad, I gotta stop her." He looked pleadingly at his father, wishing now more than ever he could just get out of the car himself.

"I got you," Mr. Abrams winked and pulled into the first open spot he saw. Artie's father jumped out of the car and hurried to unpack the wheelchair. As Artie sat there, his heart raced, he had to do something, but there was no way he could catch Tina now...


	2. Chapter 2

"Tina, Tina," Artie shouted, rolling desperately towards the scene of confrontation. Too late, he could already see her fearlessly approaching the large gang of jocks. She looked up at them and said something. In the five years that he had known Tina, Artie had never seen her so brazen. What was she doing? That jock with the stupid mohawk, Puck, actually seemed to pause for a minute. Kurt just looked on, wide eyed, waiting. The silence seemed to fill the whole parking lot and still Artie raced towards the scene in his wheelchair. Finally, Puck just shrugged and walked away, not laying a hand on Tina or Kurt. The other jocks reluctantly followed. Artie rolled up to the scene. "What got into you?"

She just shrugged, seeming to retreat back into that little shy girl I knew so well.

"She was great!" Kurt volunteered. "I didn't know you had it in you, Tina."

"I-it was n-n-nothing." She shook her head, but she was smiling ever so slightly. "I j-j-just asked th-them wh-what th-they wo-would do in his sh-sh-shoes." Kurt shot her a questioning glance, but Tina just ignored it. "W-we b-b-better g-g-get go-going." Tina turned and started wheeling Artie away

"Thanks again," Kurt called after them. "Hey, maybe I'll see you at auditions for the glee club later."

"Y-yeah, m-m-maybe." Tina called back as they walked towards the huge school building before them.

"Will you stop pushing me?" Artie asked a bit too loudly; a few people turned to look at the pair. He roughly pushed himself away, trying to gain some independence. "What happened to you back there? That wasn't like you at all."

Tina skipped a few steps, trying to catch up with Artie as he ruthlessly rolled up the school's only handicap ramp. "A-A-And th-this isn't like you. Wh-Where's your s-s-smile, your p-positive a-attitude? I-I-I d-don't like th-this s-s-side of you."

Artie shrunk back slowly. If anyone knew how hard he worked to keep up that positive attitude, it was Tina. There were a lot of hard days at Lima High School. "Sorry," he sighed. "I guess I'm stressed out... and tired. I didn't sleep much last night. You really scared me back there. Something could have-"

Right as they turned down the hall towards their first classes, a blast of bright blue slushie met both their faces. "At least my shoes aren't covered in slush," a nameless jock laughed in their faces.

"Uh, g-g-gross." Tina said, wiping slushie out of her face.

"There's still some time til the bell, go clean yourself up. I've got to get to Math." Artie's eyes filled with concern, his brief outburst momentarily forgotten.

"O-OK. I'll m-m-meet you be-before S-S-Spanish?"

Artie looked up into her dark round eyes, finding something beautiful in the bright blue slush dripping off her round cheeks. He swallowed, fighting to control his emotions. "Yeah, I'll see you," he said, a shadow of his usual smile returning.

Artie watched Tina start down the hall for a moment, a sly smile forming. How come he never realized how brave and beautiful that Tina could be? Most people probably thought she was shy because of her stutter, but Artie knew better. As he turned off towards the elevator, he easily recalled the countless times that Tina had stood up for him or for one of their friends. He owed her so much... the least he could do was help her out when she was in need.

"Hey Wheels!" somebody called from off to the side and before he could turn towards them, a tall jock strode up to him. It was Puck again. "You know, your friend isn't half bad."

Artie blinked up to him, in shock. "Why are you talking to me?"

Puck looked around the hall, but they were almost the only ones left still in the hall. They were almost late. Puck nodded to himself, thinking it was alright to continue. "I need a favor."

"Look, Puck, it's the first day of school. I don't think you need the math test just yet."

"Come on, let's take the elevator and talk about it." He clasped Artie around the back, walking him towards the elevator. Shocked, all Artie could do was take the key ring off his belt loop and unlock the elevator's controls, his hand slightly shaking from the unexpected turn of events.

"No offense, Puck. You know I love your company, but the stairs would be a whole lot faster."

"Oh, nonsense. Come on. We're almost late for class." Puck steered him into the elevator and Artie had the worst feeling as the elevator doors slid slowly closed.

Sure enough, Puck's lips curled up evilly as the elevator started raising. "This isn't about the math test, is it?" Artie asked quietly.

"No," Puck laughed. "Let's just say that I have a friend who is interested in your little girl friend."

"Who, Tina? She's not my girlfriend."

"Details." Puck narrowed his eyes and jerked towards Artie threateningly. "So if you, my friend, knows what's good for you, you'll stay away from the girl and from me."

"OK,OK," Artie raised his hands in surrender. "You've got my word."

"Oh, and while you're at it, you might want to get me that math test." Puck laughed and the elevator doors opened, as if on his command. Puck kicked Artie's wheelchair. "I'll see you in class."

Puck kept laughing as he walked away, intentionally blocking Artie's way as he set off towards class. Artie raised his eyebrow and started to roll himself after Puck's retreating figure. Only his wheelchair wouldn't move. One wheel was completely stuck... locked in place. Shit. Puck must have kicked down the wheel lock. Artie turned around, but he couldn't even see the lock from where he sat, much less reach it. The elevator doors started sliding closed before him and, at the same time, the last bell sounded. He was late and school had barely started. This was gonna be some year.

Artie stared at the elevator doors, willing them to open again. There was no way he could reach the control panels from where he sat. He sat, stuck, as the seconds ticked away. He had forgotten his watch at home again and he imagined himself stuck all day until some janitor finally watched the survellance tapes and came to free him. Damn it! Damn Puck! Losing patience, he hit his thigh and nearly jumped at the noise. There was no pain, but he must have landed a hard hit, judging by the sound. He grunted in dismay.

"Artie?"

Artie thought he must have imagined the sound of his name, but there it was, painfully familiar. "Tina? Open the door."

And suddenly, there she was, smiling down at him. "Wh-what hap-happened?"

She was always there and somehow, there again. "Puck." Tina did not need an explanation and just nodded solemnly. "He pressed the wheel lock. You see it? Could you just undo it?"

Tina squeezed in behind his wheelchair. "Yeah, h-here it i-i-is." He heard a soft click and moved himself forward, immediately feeling relieved.

Tina came around, sweeping her long black hair out of her face. "How come you're not in class?" He asked.

"I j-just fin-finished c-cleaning up. I-I-I th-thought I-I h-heard you s-still in the el-elevator." Her eyes feel on his and she was suddenly leaning way too close to comfort.

Artie begged himself to think of Puck. He coughed, moving away from her approach. "We'd better get going. We're late enough as it is."

He started wheeling out of the elevator, but she called him. He looked around and found her puzzled gaze, looking hurt. "Artie," she said softly. "Artie, we-we're on the fir-first f-f-floor."

Artie had to laugh and they traded places. He went back in the elevator and she moved out of the way. "I guess I'll see you before Spanish?"

Her gaze was still shielded, far away from where they were. "O-oh, yeah. S-Spanish. S-s-see ya."

"See ya," Artie sent her a warm smile as the elevator doors closed on him a second time.


	3. Chapter 3

"He said what?" Kurt just stared up at Artie as they sat across from each other, eating their lunches. Artie wasn't even really friends with Kurt and for all he knew, Kurt would blab his secret, but who else could he tell? Jacob Ben Israel? Artie's name would be disgraced all over the McKinley High blog, if it wasn't already. That girl from the AV club who liked him? Sure, and he would ruin his chances with the only other girl he might have a chance with. So, he sat next to Kurt, hoping he wasn't risking too much.

"Yeah," he said shyly.

"Well, don't worry about him," He shook his head with a kind of attitude that only Kurt was capable of. "One day, he'll be lowered down a notch."

"I'm not so sure," Artie shrugged. "I take all high school threats seriously."

"You need something to undermine him. Do something that you know he would never do."

Artie raised an eyebrow. "Which would be what, exactly?"

"Well, your thing is music, right? I saw the jazz band perform last year at spring fest. You're a pretty good singer."

"Thanks, man, but that's just for fun..." Artie shook his head. He had been pretty embarrassed when he had ended up filling in for Matt Jones at the last second, singing at the school's largest concert.

"I'm serious. And you know the glee club really needs some new singers this year."

"I don't know. I'm already sort of an outcast in this school. No offense, I know you love glee club, but glee club is pretty lame."

"Not for long. Mr. Shue is the best. You know he used to be in glee club, like when we were babies. He was the star. He told me they used to rule the school. I think he could really make it cool to be in glee again."

Artie just shook his head, finishing off his sandwich.

"Just think about it. Puck will never join glee and I'm pretty sure Tina wants to join. It will be one place where he can't get you."

Artie sat in silence for a long moment. "I'll think about it."

"S-S-So wh-what d-do you th-think, Artie?" Tina smiled at him a few minutes later at the sign up sheet outside Spanish.

"I don't know..." Artie knotted his eyebrows. He would be much happier to just stay an unknown in high school. He didn't need to join any weird clubs, especially clubs where he couldn't even do half the activities, like dance.

"Oh c-c-come on," he shot him a shy smile, warming his heart. "It c-c-ould be f-fun."

"I'll think about it. For now, put your name up. I'll go with you to auditions."

"Th-Thanks, Artie." The smile stayed on her face as they turned around to enter the Spanish room.

And all too soon, they were outside the auditorium, waiting to be auditioned. "Sh-she s-s-sounds re-really good," Tina stuttered nervously, listening to Rachel Berry belt a ballad.

"Don't worry about it, you'll do great," Artie smiled, encouragingly.

"No, f-f-forget about it. I ch-changed my mind." And she started walking away.

"Hey wait," Artie turned, trying to catch up with her.

"Tina C?" Mr. Shue shouted from within the auditorium.

Artie finally headed off his friend. "What do you have to lose?"

Tina looked up at Artie softly. "I-I guess you're r-r-right." She paused, thinking. "I-I-I'll try out if you try out."

Artie breathed deeply. It wasn't just about him, but about Tina and all the other rejects in their school. Didn't they need somewhere to feel at home? And hey, it might actually be fun. What did he have to lose? He looked up into Tina's soft round eyes and lost his heart. "OK, let's do it."

The next few weeks were pretty OK for Artie. Between glee clue, jazz band and real school work, he had almost forgotten Puck's threat. His father had even let him drive to school a few days, based on the argument that they had paid to have the van modified, so they might as well make use of it. Artie found himself smiling while he rolled down the halls, humming a song they were working on in glee club.

"Hey, Artie!" Tina shouted from behind him and skipped a few steps to catch up to him. She was smiling widely, like she was hiding some great news.

"What's up?" Artie had to laugh. He was almost overwhelmed to see Tina so happy. They had really started talking a lot more recently and he had really starting liking her, but he wasn't so sure how she felt.

"Th-there's s-some great news. C-Come with me to the practice room."

"OK," Artie just shrugged, wildly confused.

Tina pushed him down the hall and they soon arrived in the glee club's practice room. The whole glee club was waiting for them and the crowd turned towards the door, all smiling and laughing. Artie immediately noticed the three new additions: Puck and two other football players that he didn't know. Artie's face fell immediately.

"I-Isn't it gr-great?" Tina asked, looking at Artie. "We f-finally have the twelve p-people we need for s-s-sectionals."

"Yeah, great." Artie smiled, not missing that threatening look on Puck's face for an instant.

Artie spent that rehearsal wishing he were anywhere but there. Puck would look over at him every once in a while, threatening Artie to say or do the wrong thing. Artie just ignored him, but Mr. Shue did not have such a strategy. "Hey, Artie," the teacher caught him on the way out. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Artie shrugged.

"OK, but if anything is bothering you, just let me know." Artie shuddered, wondering if his parents had been talking to Mr. Shue, but as his teacher turned to compliment Mercedes on her solo, Artie knew he was just doing his job. Mr. Shue really cared about them.

Outside the practice room, the whole glee club was gathered around a poster. "What's going on?" Artie asked, unable to see the poster from his line of sight.

"It's the homecoming dance," Rachel exclaimed. "I think we should all go. It could be fun."

"No way," Kurt exclaimed, actually looking offended. "Last year I went and the jocks spilled spiked punch all over my suede shoes. It still hurts me to look at them."

"Yeah, we'll be laughed out of school for sure," Mercedes chimed in."

"Well, I-I-I th-think it could be f-fun," Tina chimed in.

"Why?" Artie asked, looking surprised. Why would she want to go to an event like that and risk public humiliation?

"Oh, I-I-I al-already have a d-d-date," she said nervously, pushing back her hair.

"What? Who?" He knew he sounded stupid, but all he could get out were the one sentence questions he'd been asking.

"Puck," she said with a smile and Puck walked up to her, putting his arm around her shoulder.

As the couple walked away, Puck looked back and gave Artie the smuggest look he'd ever seen.

Artie turned around and rolled away, ignoring the rest of the glee club. There was only one question on his mind and that was why.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thank you guys so much for the reviews! :) I'm really having fun with this fic so far and yes, I promise there will be more plot twists. Also, I am trying to go with the episodes here, and these are just "cut scenes." I promise that whatever doesn't seem to fit will eventually work itself out, lol.

"Artie, if you really like her, you'll go after her." Kurt's advise kept pounding through Artie's brain the whole night and into the morning. He didn't sleep much, again, but that was the least of his problems. He could clearly picture Tina's smile, her shy laugh and the countless hours they'd spent discussing everything and anything. What did all that mean to her? Clearly not much. She liked Puck, that much was obvious. Artie stared up at the ceiling above his bed, wondering if he should just give up while he was ahead. He could go to homecoming dance with the girl from the AV club, or better yet, not at all. Artie sat up in his bed with a sigh. "Artie?" His mom's familiar wake up call came from down the hall, so obviously concerned. "Artie? Are you up?"

He answered before she could push open the door. "Yeah, mom, give me a few minutes, OK?"

"Alright," her voice hesitated. "Are you feeling OK? You can stay home today if you want."

Artie shook his head. Why did his folks always think -- but right then, a dull pain shot through his back, ending abruptly at the line where he felt no pain. It was nothing, he told himself, his tense muscles acting up again. "Yeah," he tried to answer his mom, but his voice actually cracked. "I'm fine."

He transferred himself into his wheelchair and got dressed as fast as he could, eager to show the world that he was fine. The pain lingered, but Artie ignored it in favor of another pain: Puck.

He finally wheeled himself towards the kitchen, consciously smiling despite his problems. Positive attitude, he told himself, you could be dead. His mother's sincere smile made it worth it. "Oh, good. I was just gonna come get you. We've got to head out a little early today. Your dad had a meeting at work."

"OK," Artie just shrugged, not really caring if he was a few minutes early for school. "Mom, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she smiled. "Are you gonna be OK without breakfast?"

"What? Yeah, it's fine. I'll grab something in the vending machine." His mom was never like this he thought. Maybe he would finally be given some more independence, like deciding exactly when and where he had to be home. "So, mom, I was wondering, could I go to the homecoming dance?" Artie had no clue where the question had come from, but suddenly, he had to go to the dance. He had a strange feeling about Puck's true motives and he wanted to be there if they came crashing down. He would find a date, just in case. Someone who he knew would not be taken.

"What?" She said, completely shocked. "Absolutely not."

"But mom," Artie moaned. Just five minutes ago, he would have loved to have this excuse not to attend the dance, but suddenly, it was important. He had to see for himself what was going on. He had to go after Tina.

"No buts." She paused and gave him a look. "Is there a girl?"

"Yeah," he said softly.

His mother turned stone white, but before she could open her mouth, Mackenzie came dancing into the kitchen. "OK, I'm ready to go. I'm so excited," she smiled, twirling around, her backpack swinging out behind her, almost hitting Artie.

"Hey, watch out," Artie shouted, laughing as he rolled himself towards the door.

"Be careful," his mother muttered a little bit lower.

"I just can't help it! The mixer is tonight. I can't believe you're letting me go, mom!"

"Wait, what?" Artie stopped himself so suddenly that Mackenzie rammed straight into his wheelchair. "You're letting her go to that stupid 6th grade mixer at school? You didn't let me go!"

"You didn't want to go, if I recall." His mom said too quickly.

"No, but now I want to go to homecoming and you won't let me. What is this about?"

Mackenzie looked from her mother to her brother. "But Artie, this is different. I have to go. I'm not like you..."

"Makenzie!" Her mother threatened and turned from both of them, her eyes looking soft and distant. "Let's just go. Now."

Artie gave Mackenzie a questioning look, but the girl just shrugged and squeezed past Artie, out the front door.

"Excuse me?" Artie coughed softly, willing the girl before him to turn around. "Excuse me?"

Finally, she turned around, her hair parted sharply and pulled behind her ears, her thick glasses that she constantly pushed up off her nose. "How can I help you?" Susie Pepper asked gratingly.

"Um, yeah." Artie looked down in his lap. "I was wondering if you want to go to homecoming with me?"

Susie looked at him for about a second and suddenly burst out laughing. "Go to the homecoming dance with you? I've been humiliated in the school, but never quite so badly. You might think I like you because I scheduled 5 classes with you, even though you're only a sophomore. You may have even noticed that I sometimes hide behind bushes on your way home. But you're fooling yourself if you think I like you! I will never like another boy again after what Mr. Schuster did to me! So I don't know how you've deluded yourself, but Susie Pepper would never be caught liking someone who was 2 years younger than her and a cripple no less."

"Um, forget I even asked," Artie muttered, wheeling away. Would he ever catch a break?

As Artie wheeled himself towards math class, he couldn't fail to notice Puck laughing by his locker, Tina hanging off his shoulder. They were talking quietly, smiling sincerely at each other. Tina's face fell momentarily at the sight of Artie, but she soon turned around and kept talking to Puck. Luckily for Artie, Puck did not notice him.

A wave of pain seared up Artie's back as he entered the math class and he had to pause, just clear of the door. He sat up straight, trying to fight off the pain. His muscles were really a mess today, he thought, shaking his head and heading off to his seat. Mrs. Matthews began their math class as usual, one minute before the bell rang. She dragged on endlessly, explaining some new concept that Artie understood in minutes.

Artie stretched his sore back, hoping that Mrs. Matthews wouldn't notice. Thankfully, the teacher kept her back turned towards the board, restating some explanation. The pain died a bit with his movement, but soon enough, a new, terrible pain struck him. It came so hard and fast that it took over Artie's very soul. Something stabbed him in the back, like a thousand knifes bent on destroying him. The pain would not leave and finally Artie could not fight it anymore. His eyes closed on their own accord and he fell forward in his chair, unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thanks again for the reviews. :) This website got a whole lot more complicated from my days writing *cough*nsync fanfics and I wish I knew how to send PMs and such.

"Artie? Artie, are you OK?" the boy moaned, rubbing his forehead, and as he opened his eyes, he automatically reached out for his glasses.

"Oh, here," a different voice called, handing him the familiar thick plastic pair of frames.

Artie blinked a few times as Mr. Schuster and the new nurse, Mrs. Nuro, came into focus. "What?" he mumbled, looking around the cramped nurse's room. "Don't you have class, Mr. Shue?"

Mr. Shue just nodded. "Cancelled it when I heard, Artie. It's all my fault. I've been working you boys too hard for sectionals."

"No, it's not. If anything, you've made me feel a part of something real for the first time in my life." Artie nodded, referring to the ongoing effort to get a handicapable bus for sectionals. So far, their efforts had failed, but the team seemed to understand him a whole lot more now that they had to be in wheelchairs. "This happens to me every once in a while. My muscles got all messed up in the accident and they still hurt sometimes. It doesn't usually make me pass out though." Artie shook his head, trying to imagine what sort of scene he'd caused back in math class. He'd be the talk of the school for weeks.

Mr. Shue nodded, thoughtful. "Well, first period is almost over and I'm sure everyone will hear about it soon enough."

"Oh gosh. I hope you didn't..."

"It wasn't only me, I swear." Mr. Shue held up his hands and Artie couldn't help but believe him. "Rachel thought it was--"

"What did I think?" Rachel smiled pulling open the door to the nurse's office.

"Shouldn't you be in class, Rachel?" Mr. Shue shot her a nasty look, mostly for Artie's sake.

"Yes, but they never hold study hall until the final bell. Anyway, Artie, I heard what happened from Jacob, who heard it from Matt Jones, who sits in your math class. I'm awfully sorry about what happened. I mean, I never really understood what it must be like before this week-" Rachel probably would have kept talking, but she was rudely interrupted by the bell. "Oh, anyway, I've got to go! I've got choir practice next and I'm sure if I'm the first person there, Mr. Charles will give me the solo. That's what he did last year." She looked briefly down at Artie, as if barely remembering why she was here. "Oh, I hope you feel better, Artie. Oh, and Artie, I hope you don't mind, but I told the whole glee club to come down and visit you."

"Great," Artie said sarcastically as Rachel bounced out the door. "Just great."

"By the way, how are you feeling?" Mr. Shue looked at Artie nervously, as if he could pass out again at any given moment.

"I'm OK," Artie tried to smile, just as a wave of pain overcame him. He grunted. "Been better."

"Maybe we should take him to the hospital." The nurse half asked, looking concerned.

"No!" Artie shouted.

"No," Mr. Shue said, more quietly. "Let's wait til his parents come."

"You called my parents?" Artie asked, mortified at the prospect of his parents here at the merciless McKinley high school. He sighed, preparing to lose all dignity.

"It's school policy, Artie. I had to," Mrs. Nuro shrugged.

Thankfully, the door opened at that moment, revealing Kurt and Mercedes, each carrying a thick science text book. "Hey, boy," Mercedes said with a shy smile. "We had to drop by to see how you were doing."

"Yeah, Rachel must have sent 12000 texts about it," Kurt said with a short laugh, trying to lighten up even the most serious situation.

Mercedes nodded, "You know we've got your back, right, Artie?"

"Thanks, guys," Artie smiled weakly, wishing he had the strength to sit up, but there was still a dull ache pounding his back.

"Anyway, we'd love to stay and chat, but we've got chem lab. I can't bear the thought of missing the directions and spilling chemicals on my pants... again." Kurt swept back his hair dramatically. "Although I must admit that the blue stains actually added to my designer jeans."

Mercedes laughed lightly, "Anyway, feel better. We'll see you around." She smiled and the unlikely friends left the small room.

"It's great that they're there for you, Artie. Friends like that are hard to come by. Don't worry, I'll stay here until your parents come," Mr. Shue smiled, trying to be friendly.

Artie just shook his head and tried to sit up. Mr. Shue laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head lightly. Artie didn't fight his teacher's direction. "Really, Mr. Shue, that's not necessary. I can-"

He was interrupted by the door again. This time it was Quinn, her cheerleading friends, Finn and the football players from glee club. The small room seemed ready to burst from so many people. They barely looked in, all still laughing and talking loudly. "Hey, wheels," Quinn said with a smile. "Hope you feel better."

They left in a hurry, not even stopping their antics to really visit him. Artie shook his head, it was about as much as he could hope for. The room was finally silent for a long moment until the door squeaked open again. His head was bent, his mohawk clearly visable, but Artie noticed something was wrong the moment Puck looked up at him. His usually dark face was actually smiling. "Hey, Artie, my man," he said with a smile. "Heard you were under the weather." Puck walked over to Artie, smiling at Mr. Shue. He turned towards Artie, gave him a high five and leaned in close. "You mess with my girl, I'll mess you up worse than this," Puck hissed, a smile still on his face.

"What about Quinn, or Rachel?" Artie whispered back, having heard the rumors about Puck that were flying around the school.

"Nah, they're just for kicks," Puck smiled smugly, leaving any further explanation up to the imagination. "I've got something special in mind for your little girlfriend." Puck backed away, and gave a look at Mr. Shue. "Hope you feel better, Artie. Really, I do."

Puck kept that nasty smile on his face until he left the room, slamming the door behind him for good measure.

The bell rang for second period a few moments later. "Well, I guess nobody else is coming," Mr. Shue sighed, looking overwhelmed by the amount of visitors Artie had gotten.

"Yeah," Artie looked at the door longingly, realizing who had not come. "I guess not."

There was a deep silence until the door creaked open and she walked in, her black hair half hiding her face, her eyes on her books. "S-Sorry I c-c-couldn't c-c-come earlier, Artie." Tina looked up shyly, her eyes wide, her stutter worse than usual. "Mr. Gorgodian ke-kept us l-l-late again."

"It's OK," Artie smiled from where he laid. "I'm glad you came."

"I was s-s-so wo-worried about you when I heard," Tina shook her head. "L=L-Look, w-we need to t-talk. J-J-Just us. M-M-Meet me-me after g-glee club t-t-today, if you're u-up to it."

"Yeah, sure," Artie nodded his head vigorously. "Of course."

"G-Great, I'll s-s-see you." She smiled. "I-I-I hope you f-f-feel better." She backed off shyly, left with a nod to Mr. Shue and closed the door behind her.

Artie barely waited until the door was closed before turning to Mr. Shue. "Can't I get out of here now? I'm really fine," and this time he managed to sit up unhindered. His back was still hurting, but he felt a lot better.

"Sorry, Artie. We have to wait til your parents get here."

"But-" Artie started to object, but he was interrupted by the door and this time, in walked his parents. "Mom, I'm fine. Can't I just go back to class?"

His dad actually laughed. "I've never heard you ask that, so I'll take it as a good sign."

But his mother looked awful, her large eyes wet. "See, this is exactly why..." she shook her head, trailing off.

"What do you mean?" Artie demanded.

Mr. Abrams sighed. "Molly, do you mind if I talk to Artie for a minute?"

"Sure," she said, not moving an inch.

"Alone,"

"Oh, sure. Fine."

The nurse, Mr. Shue and Mrs. Abrams went out into the hall, no doubt to talk about Artie. Mr. Abrams shook his head. "Don't mind her. She's just worried about you."

"Is that really why she doesn't want me driving anywhere? Is that why she won't let me go to the homecoming dance?"

"You want to go to the dance?" His dad looked at him, surprised.

"Yeah." he said sheepishly. "It's a long story." Artie was somehow more determined than ever to prove himself to Tina.

"Well, if you want to go, I don't see why not. I'll talk to your mother."

"I just don't get it," Artie shook his head. "It's like she doesn't want me to grow up or something."

"Exactly," His father sighed, sitting in the chair next to Artie. "She still feels guilty about what happened to you in the accident. I think she's still trying to make it up to you by taking care of you."

"Isn't she gonna realize that I have to grow up eventually? I mean, it's pretty ridiculous that Mackenzie is getting to do things that I'm not allowed to do."

"I know, I know. I'll talk to her about it. But in the meantime, what is this I hear about the homecoming dance?" And as Artie told his father the whole story, he suddenly realized exactly how much he wanted to hear what Tina would tell him that afternoon.


	6. Chapter 6

"Artie, hey wa-wait up!" A familiar female called from behind him and that was enough for Artie to slow down.  
About half an hour ago, he had taken one look into the practice room, seen all the glee kids standing around laughing and decided to skip practice that day. He hadn't wanted to ditch Tina, so he had spent the time huddled around the corner. Now, as he turned towards Tina, he was surprised to find her in a wheelchair, even though the challenge was as good as over. "What are you doing?" He asked, giving her an awkward smile.  
"I wa-wanted to t-talk to you, eye to eye," she said, her stutter nearly gone. "I-I never realized how hard this must before for you."  
"It's nothing," Artie shrugged. "Everybody's life is hard sometimes."  
"I guess so," Tina said shyly. "Are you feeling any better? We missed you today."  
"Yeah, I think my embarrassment will fade eventually." He stated, a crooked smile landing on his face.  
"Artie, I really care about you."  
"You do?" Artie raised an eyebrow. "What about Puck?"  
Much to his surprise, Tina doubled over laughing. "Puck and I are working on a science project together."  
"What kind of science project involves going to homecoming together?"  
Still, she laughed. "You'll see." She looked down the long, deserted hall. "Want to race?"  
Artie looked after her, "You're on!"  
Minutes later, she was kissing him, than revealing the terrible truth. He had really thought they had something in common, but it turned out she had been trying to be left alone, while he wanted so badly to fit in. She had lied to him and Artie wasn't sure if he could ever trust her again.

Against his better judgment, Artie found himself sitting outside the school gym on the night of homecoming, trying to convince himself to go in. He was alone, him and his neon green suspenders. A group of kids came up behind him, laughing, pushing each other playfully. Artie barely looked up at them. "Hey Artie!" One of them called, and it turned out to be the cheerleader Brittany. She was with a whole bunch of jocks and cheerleaders that Artie didn't know, but she didn't seem to care. "You need some help?" And before Artie could object, Brittany was wheeling him into the crowded gym.  
The jocks laughed, bumping into his chair as they walked away. The whole place was a mess, packed with kids. He hadn't exactly expected to see Puck and Tina in the middle of the dance floor, but where were they?  
Artie shook his head and wheeled himself to an inconspicuous corner. Why did he care where they were? She had lied to him... she had trusted him enough to tell the truth after all. Weren't there times when he faked poor health, just to skip school so he wouldn't have to be seen? Sometimes it was just too hard to fake being happy. He knew that struggle was even harder for Tina and probably Puck as well. Artie just didn't understand how she had faked the stutter for years, during countless conversations, but he didn't have to think too far back to understand. When it was just the two of them, with no expectations, she had never stuttered. And he had never noticed.

Maybe he was too forgiving, but now he found himself looking around the dance floor, hoping to catch sight of her. Suddenly, there she was, standing near the stage, laughing with Puck. Artie found himself pulled towards them, his eyes narrowed.

"What's going on?" He was next to them in less than a moment. They looked up at him, like they were surprised he had the guts to be there.

"Look, Artie, I can explain everything." Tina shook her head and suddenly looked down at her empty hands.

Artie looked between them. Puck was smiling concededly and Tina looked like she was on the verge of tears. "There's no need to explain. I understand perfectly."

Puck laughed. "No you don't." Artie raised an eyebrow, running out of patience. "If you understood, you would hear us through."

"I wouldn't have to," Artie shook his head, arguing a moot point. He crossed his arms and looked between the couple. "Well?"

"Look, I think your girlfriend is pretty cool," Puck started, "Especially when she stood up to us jocks on the first day of school."  
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Artie asked.

Puck cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Now wait. That doesn't mean it will work out with us. I'll admit, she's quite a catch and that's why I asked her to homecoming, but she spends most of the time talking about you. That's pretty lame."

"Really?" Artie had to ask Tina herself.

"Yeah," she said shyly, blushing. "I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"So I told her she'd better tell you the truth."

"About your stutter." Artie looked start at Tina. "I appreciate that, by the way."

"No problem." Tina hesitated. "I - Oh, Artie, I started stuttering because I liked you."

Tina was bright red by now, but Artie couldn't help wondering if he'd heard right. "What?"

"The first day of sixth grade, remember?" But of course Artie remembered. They had both been lost in their new school, but somehow managed to find each other. "I was lost and embarrassed. You were so nice and I couldn't find the words to say thanks."

Artie smiled softly now. "I remember that."

"Well, I kept the stutter, at first because I was shy and scared, but later it became habit."

"Oh wow."

"Yeah," she finally looked up with a smile. "I guess hanging out with Puck made me realize how much you meant to me."

"Yeah, I thought you guys were working on a science project?"

"We are," Puck laughed. "I needed some extra help and Tina thought it was funny."

Artie studied both of their honest faces. He had to admit that he believed them. "But why..."

Tina just shook her head and smiled. "So we wanted to do a special mash up for you, I know you have Rollin' now, but this is from me personally."

"What?" Artie looked around and all the kids from glee club were gathering towards the stage. "Here? Now?" And suddenly, he was the blushing one.

"Why not?" Puck laughed, jumping onto the low stage, followed by Tina up the stairs. Artie couldn't have gotten on that stage even if he had wanted to. "We're all here and we wanted to have an audience."

"Oh no," Artie muttered, but found himself smiling widely at Tina, who had taken center stage.

"If we could have your attention," Rachel said in her trademark projected voice. "We'd like to do a special performance for a special friend. You might remember us from the assembly a few weeks back, well, due to popular demand, we're back."

The glee club took their places, each dressed in whatever formal clothes they had picked out. Artie could almost see the spot on one side where he should have been sitting. It was too late, they were holding up their microphones, humming a familiar tune.

She started singing all at once, letting her emotions run free.

"It must have been cold there in my shadow,  
to never have sunlight on your face.  
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.  
You always walked a step behind.

So I was the one with all the glory,  
while you were the one with all the strength.  
A beautiful face without a name for so long.  
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.

Did you ever know that you're my hero,  
and everything I would like to be?  
I can fly higher than an eagle,  
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings."

"Break it down," Matt said in a low voice and Artie couldn't help laughing while he started beatboxing.

"If you change your mind, I'm the first in line  
Honey I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around  
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down  
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown  
Honey I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie  
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me  
(that's all I ask of you honey)  
Take a chance on me

We can go dancing, we can go walking, as long as we're together  
Listen to some music, maybe just talking, get to know you better  
'cos you know I've got  
So much that I wanna do, when I dream I'm alone with you  
It's magic  
You want me to leave it there, afraid of a love affair  
But I think you know  
That I can't let go

If you change your mind, Im the first in line  
Honey I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around  
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down  
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown  
Honey I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie  
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me  
(come on, give me a break will you? )  
Take a chance on me"

Tina jumped off the stage and sang a few lines acapella to Artie. Than she asked, "well, do you forgive me?"

Arite could just nod and this time when she leaned into kiss him, it was for real.


End file.
